


Survival

by GrizzlyBear1710



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Clexaweek2020, Day 2 - Survival, F/F, Minor Character Death, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22994440
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrizzlyBear1710/pseuds/GrizzlyBear1710
Summary: Lexa's team are surrounded by zombies in a supermarket where Nyko gets bitten. A beacon of hope comes from a removed tile in the ceiling from another team. Lexa's team are saved by Clarke's and both agree to help each other albeit reluctantly. Clarke and Lexa have a tender moment, causing them to both wonder if life really is about more than just surviving.
Relationships: Clarke Griffin & Lexa, Clarke Griffin/Lexa
Comments: 3
Kudos: 65
Collections: Clexaweek2020





	Survival

Survival

They were completely surrounded by a horde of zombies. Lexa had no idea how the horde had managed to creep up on them without anyone noticing. Lincoln was with Anya looking for medical supplies while Gustus and Indra were searching for food. Lexa was loitering between the two groups as their leader, agreeing or disagreeing with their choices. Nyko was meant to be on lookout. 

“Nyko! Nyko! Where the hell are you?” Lexa shouted in the supermarket. The zombies were getting closer with every passing second. They were coming from all angles, from the aisles, over the shelves, from the front doors, everywhere. 

“Lexa!” came Anya’s frantic voice, “It’s Nyko.” Lexa leapt over a low freezer towards Anya, driving her small knife into the skulls of a few zombies nearby. The second she saw her friend; Lexa knew there was something wrong. She could see blood pooling around the corner. The sight made her feel sick; Nyko was on the floor. There was a gaping wound on his leg that didn’t stop pumping blood out of it. He was getting paler and paler with his breathing becoming shorter. 

Lincoln was knelt down beside him, Nyko’s head in Lincoln’s hands, asking, “Nyko, what happened? You’ve got to tell me, mate, we can fix this.” Lincoln was their closest thing to a doctor with limited medical experience, but he could sort out any wounds or minor injuries. This didn’t look minor though. 

“Before I could react, I got attacked and bitten,” he stammered over the last word.

Lexa’s stomach dropped. If Nyko was bitten that only meant one thing: He would turn before sunrise of the next day. There was no coming back from an infected wound. Nyko turned his head to face Lexa and his eyes were full of emotion: Dread, worry, sadness and mostly, desperation. 

“Commander,” he began in a shaky voice, “Please, you must do it. Put me out of my misery before it’s too late.” A sudden feeling of sickness washed over Lexa. She’d slaughtered a hundred, maybe hundreds of zombies as well as several humans who’d turned…rotten for want of a better word. But she’d never had to kill anyone in her squad. She couldn’t. 

“Nyko, no…” she began. 

“You must, Lexa.” 

“Everyone,” Lexa commanded to the rest of the people around her, “Time to get out. Everyone gets out; we leave no one behind. Lincoln and Gus, you carry Nyko. We need to go now!” 

The squad rallied around Nyko, all trying to do their bit to get everyone to safety. They didn’t have long as the zombies were impossibly close. Anya surveyed the area trying to find an exit route, but each one was blocked. They were going to have to fight their way out. Suddenly she noticed that they could fight off some of the zombies and get out of the emergency exit towards the back of the shop. Anya motioned for the team to follow her lead.

In all the commotion, none of the ex-military team noticed a panel in the ceiling getting pulled away. A small brunette popped her head out of the gap and felt the overwhelming desire to help the group who were obviously in trouble. 

“Guys, we have to help these people they’re in trouble,” said Octavia, turning to the others who were hiding out in the ceiling. 

“Octavia, no! How many times do we have to tell you, we can’t go saving everyone who needs our help,” her older brother, Bellamy, chastised. 

“But one of them is injured and we could help him!” Octavia argued, “Clarke knows how to; she’s found a way to fix the infection!” 

“Octavia, no,” said their leader, Clarke, whose word was final. 

“I can’t just sit here and do nothing,” said Octavia definitively, then started shouting at the group of people below, “Hey! Up here!” It was too late when Bellamy lunged for her; the group were already aware of their only viable escape route. 

Lexa looked around for how they could ensure everyone got up into the ceiling safely. She noticed the large shelves that ended almost in reaching distance of the missing panel. The same plan seemed to formulate in Indra’s mind as they shared a nod, then the older woman leapt for the shelves and began climbing. She was a fingertip away from being able to grasp the edge of a panel to pull herself up. She could jump, but she could risk falling to her death. From this height, she could hear a heated argument between a group of people hiding in the roof. 

“Look, the zombies are now aware that you’re up here. If you help us up, we can fight them off with you. But we need help immediately,” shouted Indra. The argument halted. Seconds later, a broad guy with floppy hair appeared in the gap and begrudgingly reached out a hand. He seemed surprised when Indra grasped his forearm but helped her to safety. Right on her tracks were Gus and Lincoln carrying Nyko. They were able to get him into the ceiling and led down. It was now time to fight back against the zombies.

The remaining people in Lexa’s squad found vantage points in the supermarket and began picking off the zombies one by one. Anya and Lexa were stood on top of freezers with their knives drilling into skulls, sending zombies crashing to the floor. Lincoln and Gus remained on the shelves, attacking the zombies that made it past the two women. 

“There’s too many; we can’t hold them off,” shouted Anya. 

“We have to retreat commander,” said Gustus. With a huff, Lexa nodded. Indra and Bellamy helped the rest of the team up, Lexa opting to go last. 

“We need to knock down the shelves then they can’t get up,” shouted Lexa. She heard a female voice complain. 

“That’s our only way in and out,” Clarke countered, popping her head out of the slot in the ceiling. 

Lexa was taken aback by how pretty this woman was with her golden locks and soft face. She had survived the apocalypse for over two years and had never seen a woman who looked as clean as the blonde before her. Most women were covered in dirt, blood and with ripped clothes looking like tatters. But this woman only had greasy hair as a tell of the apocalypse life. Her brain caught up with her and she registered Clarke’s comment. 

“It’s fine, we can put it back up once they’re gone,” Lexa argued. As Clarke debated it in her head, some zombies began clambering up the shelves, almost reaching Lexa. “Can you make a decision any quicker?” asked Lexa with a zombie trying to grab at her ankles. Clarke reached down her hands to Lexa. The brunette grasped on, noting how surprisingly soft Clarke’s fingers felt on her forearm. 

“Knock down the shelves,” Clarke ordered. As she was pulled up, Lexa swung out her legs, effectively making contact with the shelves, sending them crashing to the floor, crushing a few zombies. However, one zombie managed to snatch Lexa’s ankle in his grip and wouldn’t let go. Clarke was struggling to hold on to the surprisingly lean woman. The zombie started to claw at the bottom of Lexa’s camo pants, nearly reaching her skin. Suddenly, Clarke lost her grip on one of Lexa’s forearms, causing half of the brunette to swing dangerously. Lexa screamed out in pain; her shoulder obviously dislocated. In a panic, she managed to kick the zombie in the head, knocking him to the floor. She was in agony trying to maintain her grip on the blonde, then she was being slowly lifted into the ceiling. 

Lexa wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t practically an apartment with a group of people living altogether. She learned that the woman who saved her was called Clarke who was the informal leader, the boy with the floppy hair was Bellamy, the girl who’d caught their attention primarily was Octavia, another woman called Raven, and two guys called Jasper and Monty. They were all work colleagues who’d stumbled upon the supermarket and used it as their hideout for nearly a year. 

Clarke’s group were sat on one side of the room in some cheap garden chairs staring at the newcomers. Octavia was the only one with a small smile on her face, mainly aimed at Lincoln, Lexa noticed. Her team were sat on the other side on the floor, not knowing how to act. Whenever they met another group of survivors, they were either awful people who needed shooting, or they went their separate ways and avoided them. They’d never offered nor received help. It seemed that the other group was the same. 

“So, let’s get one thing clear. You guys aren’t staying,” Clarke began, gaining a look of surprise from Octavia, “We don’t know who you are or whether we can trust you. You stay for a maximum of a day, then you’re out on your own and you won’t return. Understood?” 

“Of course,” said Lexa curtly with a nod, “Thank you for helping us.” 

Clarke sighed, dropping her eyes, “It wasn’t my decision.” Octavia offered a shy smile which Lexa returned. “And just to be clear,” Clarke continued, “if it were up to me, you’d still be down there.” Lexa noted the icy tones of Clarke’s voice and although she understood the blonde’s caution, she didn’t appreciate it. 

“You can trust us,” said Lexa, “we’re ex-military, so we’re good with weapons, strategy and physical fitness, if you need anything.” 

Anya snapped her head to face her commander and warned, “Lexa.” 

“No, Anya, these people have helped us. We owe them,” Lexa replied. It was obvious Anya didn’t agree but she dropped her head in compliance. 

Clarke was considering her options. Lexa’s team didn’t know, but they had completely run out of ammunition and the only weapons they had were two knives between the whole group. They were practically screwed for when they next had to go on a mission. As if alerting the group to his presence, Nyko let out a chesty cough. He called for Lexa who approached him cautiously. 

“Lexa, I need you to put me down. I don’t want to turn. Please,” he practically begged with tears in his eyes. They had no medical supplies so Nyko was led with his leg propped up on a pillow with a bit of clothing wrapped around the wound. Lexa had created a makeshift sling with a spare t-shirt for her shoulder, but it was throbbing. 

“Nyko,” Lexa began but realised she had no reassurance or solution to offer him. 

On the other side of the room, Octavia nudged Clarke’s shoulder and motioned an action to her. Clarke shut her down immediately. 

“What are you hiding?” asked Anya aggressively. Lexa’s head popped up to observe what was going on. 

“None of your business,” Raven snapped back. God, Lexa thought, these two would do nothing but argue it seemed. 

“Why was Octavia nudging you? What are you hiding from us?” asked Anya again, raising to her feet. Before Raven could reply, Octavia jumped up.

“Clarke can cure infected bites,” Octavia admitted, sighing like it was a weight off her chest. Lexa eyes snapped onto Clarke’s. 

“Can you help him?” asked Lexa in a soft, concerned voice.   
It took Clarke by surprise. She thought this woman being ex-military would be nothing but a ruthless leader, only remaining with her group because it was her duty. Clearly, there was some emotion there. Sighing, Clarke dropped her gaze and looked at Nyko. He looked helpless and so desperate. She had a compulsion to help people; some would say it was her weakness. She just hated seeing people in pain. 

“I have an antidote, but it’s only been tested once,” said Clarke. 

“And did it work?” asked Anya impatiently. Slowly, Clarke nodded. “Then why are we just sitting here? Give him the damn antidote!” 

“Anya!” Lexa barked and the other woman immediately sat down and dropped her head. Clarke was amazed at how this woman could command her whole squad when almost all of them were bigger than her. 

“I can inject the antidote, but I must warn you that it’s a hard thing to go through,” said Clarke. 

Lexa looked at her friend in pain and asked him, “Nyko, is that what you want?” Nyko turned his head to face her, then looked at Clarke, then back to Lexa. Then, he shook his head. If Lexa was shocked, it didn’t show on her face. “Why not?” she asked softly.   
Tears welled up in Nyko’s eyes, and it was something no one was expecting. He was a huge man who had never cried in all the years Lexa had known him, not even when his wife had died. 

“It’s my time, Lexa. I can’t…I don’t want to survive like this anymore. Please,” he admitted, reaching his hand up and placing it on Lexa’s uninjured arm, “I don’t want to survive like this anymore.” Despite not knowing these people, Clarke felt very emotional at his confession. But the reality was that nobody wanted to survive like this. Everyone was just doing what they had to. 

“Nyko, come on, you’re not thinking right,” said Anya, her voice discernibly quieter than before. Clarke noticed the vulnerability in her words. She was scared that she was going to lose this man. 

“No, Anya,” he said seriously, then broke into a forced smile, “Don’t ever change, okay? Make sure you always try to convince us of doing things your way.” Anya’s eyes got a bit glassy, she sniffed and seemed to swallow down her feelings. “But, it’s my time to go. I get to see my wife and son. You guys will be fine without me,” said Nyko with a real smile despite tears rolling down his cheeks. Lincoln had to turn away from the rest of the group to cover his face. None of the team were renowned for showing emotion, so whenever they did, they tried their hardest to hide it. 

“We’ll probably be better off without you. You were always the slowest runner,” said Anya with a sharp laugh. Nyko chuckled. Anya and Gustus both now had tears forming. Once again, Nyko turned to his commander. 

“Commander, please,” he asked again. This time, Lexa nodded. 

It was Nyko’s decision for his death to feature just himself and Lexa. He said his goodbyes to the rest of the team, then they were able to get both outside the supermarket. Nyko had a rising temperature as Lexa helped drag him to the land behind the shop. She had her small gun with only a few bullets remaining. It was going to be a quick, painless death. Lexa promised him. 

Nyko sat down on the ground, looking out into the distance. Lexa stood behind him with the gun poised, pointing directly at the back of his head. She gathered all her strength and let out a shaky breath. 

“Lex,” Nyko said calmly, “it’s okay. Thank you. Not just for doing this, but for everything. You were the best commander a man could’ve asked for.” Lexa felt the tears flowing freely from her eyes now. 

“Thank you Nyko, for always being there, and for being strong,” she said and Nyko smiled. “Tell your wife and son I say hi; I love you Nyko,” said Lexa then she pulled the trigger.

Clarke wasn’t sure why she followed the pair out of the ceiling, but she found herself standing a few metres back from where Lexa was standing. As soon as the trigger was pulled, Clarke jumped. The noise shook her every time. But what surprised her the most was how the commander dropped to her knees as Nyko’s body hit the ground. The gun fell a few yards away from her legs as Lexa’s hands came up to hold her own face as she cried. It was soundless and it was ugly, and it was raw. Clarke didn’t notice she was also crying until she felt a tear drip down her chin. 

Once Lexa had regained her composure and stood up, Clarke decided to make herself known. She coughed, then took a step closer to the brunette. She’d brought a shovel with her, noting that Lexa would probably want to bury her friend. Wordlessly, a conversation seemed to pass between the two women. There was a mutual understanding and a mutual grieving. Lexa knew Clarke had lost loved ones to this apocalypse; she could see it in her eyes. Clarke began digging a grave, but she was slow. 

“You’ve not got the upper body strength for this, Clarke,” said Lexa with a small chuckle, taking the spade from the blonde. She was able to double Clarke’s efforts with minimal exertion and soon dug a grave big enough for Nyko. 

“Not all of us are ex-military,” Clarke joked, trying to make light of the situation. 

“What were you…before all this mess?” 

“I was a few months away from graduating medical school, but I worked in this supermarket part-time,” said Clarke. 

“That explains the antidote,” said Lexa thoughtfully. They were able to manoeuvre Nyko into the grave and cover him with dirt. Lexa was grateful for the help Clarke had given her. 

“Thank you, by the way, for helping us even though you didn’t want to, and for offering Nyko the antidote,” said Lexa. Clarke smiled as they began walking back to the supermarket. 

“That’s okay. I can fix your shoulder,” Clarke offered. Lexa hadn’t seen this side of the blonde before. She was being nice and considerate and it warmed Lexa’s heart. 

“It’s okay I can survive,” said Lexa with a shrug. 

Clarke pondered, then replied, “Shouldn’t life be about more than just surviving? Don’t we deserve better than that?” 

They got back to the supermarket and Lexa struggled to get up to the ceiling. Her shoulder was in agony. They had no pain relief and all she could do was breathe through the pain. Nightfall came and some of the group went to bed. They’d created a few rooms separated by sheets, including a bathroom which was just a bucket. Octavia departed to her room, inviting Lincoln to sleep on her floor as apparently hers was the ‘warmest.’ Anya had at first claimed that she wasn’t going to sleep to keep watch on Clarke’s crew, still not trusting them. Lexa had talked her down though, allowing Raven who was very persuasive, to get Anya to share her space. Gustus and Indra took the warn-out sofa to sleep on in the main room while Bellamy, Clarke and Lexa stayed up. Eventually, Bellamy went to bed, saying he’d be sleeping with one eye open. 

This left Clarke and Lexa sat in the main room in candlelight. The candle was slowly burning down and they decided to move to Clarke’s section. It was quite big and fairly quiet. 

“We shouldn’t wake up anyone in here,” whispered Clarke, “Now let me fix your shoulder.” 

“Clarke, it’s okay you really don’t have to,” Lexa protested. Clarke glared at her and sighed. Placing her hand gently on Lexa’s arm, she moved closer to the brunette.  
Whispering practically in her ear, Clarke said, “Just let me,” and how could Lexa say no? 

Gently, Clarke put her hand on Lexa’s shoulder, watching her visibly flinch as she did. She hated fixing dislocations because they hurt like hell. It had to be done, though. She counted down from three, but on two, she forced Lexa’s shoulder back into the socket in a heartbeat. Lexa let out no noise. Instead, she scrunched her eyes shut and let Clarke put the sling back in place. 

“We can help you make knives and tell you where to get some new ammo,” Lexa began before registering the confusion on Clarke’s face, “I know you have a shortage.”

“Oh,” said Clarke with a sigh, “That’s not necessary.” Lexa placed a hand on Clarke’s, forcing the blonde to meet her gaze. 

“You helped us, so now we help you.” 

“But that’s okay. I…” Clarke paused, “I trust you.” Lexa looked intensely into Clarke’s blue eyes.

“I trust you, too,” said Lexa and they smiled. 

“You can stay if you want? For as long as you need,” Clarke offered, dropping her gaze shyly. 

“We just need to survive.” 

“Maybe life should be about more than just surviving…”

Lexa interrupted, “Don’t we deserve better than that.” They shared a soft smile, then Clarke dropped her gaze. 

Lexa felt drawn to this woman. It seemed like they had similar lives and similar experiences. She’d not felt this way about someone in a long, long time. She hadn’t known Clarke long, but that didn’t matter. You can know someone one day then they could be gone the next. Life was too short now. Clarke was right; life was about more than just surviving. So, she used her hand to gently tilt Clarke’s chin upwards, causing her to meet her gaze. Then she slowly leaned in – giving Clarke ample time to pull away – before placing her lips against the blonde’s.


End file.
